Romano confirms Brazilian is on Man Utd shortlist as Rashford is ‘first casualty’ of Barcelona ‘operation’

Fabrizio Romano has brought updates on Man Utd potentially signing Brighton’s Carlos Baleba or Atalanta’s Ederson this summer.

The Red Devils spent most of their transfer budget on attacking players last summer with Benjamin Sesko, Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo all arriving.

Many Man Utd supporters were frustrated that the club failed to bring in any midfielders despite the area being one of their weakest last term.

The Red Devils have definitely improved going forward this season and now Man Utd are set to spend big on at least two new midfielders.

Brighton’s Baleba is one player they enquired about last summer, but his huge price tag put them off making a bid, while there have been rumours in recent days that they are interested in Atalanta midfielder Ederson.

Giving an update on Man Utd interest in Baleba and Ederson, Romano said on his YouTube channel : “Man Utd want to sign at least two midfielders. Manuel Ugarte is going and Casemiro is going, so Man Utd will be linked with several midfielders, but they are yet to decide what they are going to do in terms of activating options and signing players.

“Carlos Baleba has been on the list since August 2025. Baleba wanted to go to Manchester United and the agreement on personal terms remains valid, but now it is on United to decide whether they want to proceed or not.

“Today the name you are asking me about is Ederson from Atalanta. Ederson and Atletico Madrid have agreed on personal terms, but Atletico have not reached an agreement with Atalanta because they are asking for €45m for a player under contract until summer 2027 and not willing to sign a new deal.

“For Atletico at the moment this is considered too expensive. I also told you they are considering Julian Brandt as one of the names. Another name for Atletico Madrid since January remains Joao Gomes from Wolves. For Joao Gomes, Atletico Madrid are in the mix and are talking with his agent Jorge Mendes, so he is a potential target.”

Romano continued: “For Ederson, two Premier League clubs are considering this opportunity. Man Utd’s interest is not a new story, as he was already on the list in summer 2025 and remains a monitored player.

“Man Utd are informed about the situation of Ederson, but at the moment nothing is decided. The first step is Champions League football and the second step is the managerial decision. Then they will activate the options they want for midfielders. This is going to be the plan.

“Ederson has been monitored for a long time at Man Utd. He was already a target one year ago, but Atalanta said no to his exit. This summer they are prepared to sell for €45m, but again from Man Utd there is still no decision made.”

There have been recent reports in Spain that have claimed Rashford will be the ‘first casualty’ if Barcelona manage to get the ‘operation’ for Julian Alvarez over the line.

On Rashford’s future, Romano brought an update: “Rashford is always delivering. Rashford has been, in my personal opinion, fantastic this season in terms of behaviour.

“Arriving at Barcelona is not easy, especially being on the bench for a player of his status, but he has always behaved in a fantastic way. He has had a positive attitude with team-mates and with the coach. The coach is very happy with Marcus Rashford , so the connection is very good and he has never created any problems. Now it is on Barcelona to decide what they want to do.

“At the moment my understanding is that Barcelona want to renegotiate the loan for Marcus Rashford . They are still not triggering the €30m buy option clause from Man Utd, while United insist on the clause or the player will return and they will assess the best solution, whether a direct sale or something else.

“At the moment this distance between Man Utd and Barcelona remains. Barcelona are also considering alternative targets, so it is an internal discussion whether they want to proceed with Rashford or not.

“Rashford would love to stay at Barcelona . He is very happy at the club and believes he can do even better next season. The connection is very good, but now it is up to Barcelona to decide whether to activate the option or reach a new agreement with Manc Utd.”